How can I transfer an RDP house into my child’s name, when I have a letter of authority?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking how you can transfer the RDP house into your child’s name, when you have a letter of authority.

The first question is whether you have the title deed for the house, because the title deed is the only legal proof of ownership. It needs to be transferred to your child’s name through the Deeds Office. The child becomes the owner of the property when the Registrar of Deeds signs the transfer. After it’s been signed, a copy is kept at the Deeds Office closest to you.

If you don’t have the title deed and you don’t know if there is one, you can go to the nearest Deeds office and ask them to search and see if there was a deed for the house, so that you can get a copy. The person at the information desk will help you fill out a form. To get this information, you have to give them the full name and ID number of the owner of the house, or at least the owner’s date of birth and the erf number (not the street number) of the house. It will cost about R14 for them to do the search.

If there is a title deed, you will need a lawyer called a conveyancing attorney to transfer the house into your child’s name, by getting the Registrar of Deeds to sign the transfer and keep a copy of the title deed at the Deeds Office. This could cost about R7 680. You could take your letter of authority to your municipal offices and ask if they can help you with the transfer. They may be able to recommend a conveyancing attorney.

If there is no title deed, take your letter of authority to the municipal offices and ask how they can assist you to get a title deed issued.

You could also contact the Housing Enquiries of the Department of Human Settlements at the toll free customer service hotline:

0800 146 873 / 012 421 1915

If the Housing Enquiries and the municipal office are not helping you, you can go to Legal Aid and ask them to help you take the matter to court, to ask the court to give you a declaratory order to transfer the house into your child’s name.

You could ask Legal Aid for advice and assistance here:

0800 110 110 (Monday to Friday 7AM - 7PM) 

079 835 7179 (Please Call Me) 

communications2@legal-aid.co.za